Urban Outfitters Marketing Strategy

March 8th 2011
Topic Report 1: Experiential Branding

Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, founded in 1970, occupies more than 130 stores throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. They offer a "lifestyle-specific shopping experience for the educated, urban-minded individual" for consumers ranging in age from eighteen to thirty years old. Urban Outfitter's main product categories include art, music, and fashion, each of which can be broken down in to further categories. Their fashion is comprised of women's and men's products and, also, beauty products. Their music and art categories incorporate furniture, bedding, decor, camera's and electronics, books, music, toys & novelties, DIY & desktops, a bike shop, and a print shop.
Their two distinctive characteristics include a large, bold-lettered, well lit sign and large windows across the entire front entrance viewing into the stores. These characteristics catch the eye of their consumers and allow them to take a quick glance at the merchandise in the store, as a large portion of it can be seen simply from the outside view. This proves to be effective for their free-standing stores and especially for their mall locations as it draws the eye away from competition and creates curiosity to enter the
Whether you dress the part of a hipster or prep, there is something for your enjoyment here. With the exception of their location in the Christiana Mall, nearly every Urban Outfitters has two to three stories full of merchandise. The merchandise is clearly divided among the stories allowing for easier shopping purposes. Like most fashion retailers, their display design, including the fixtures, is constantly changing, and in a positive way, keeping a fresh look in the stores and inviting their curious customers back in for more. The floors are always a light hard-wood with spots of metal or concrete flooring from place to place. The smell is like that of most stores--a pleasant, but not overwhelming, scent. Music can be found playing at all times and it is typically of bands and artists sold in the stores. The lighting is bright and adequate allowing for customers to have a clear view of everything on the floor. The wall covering's are spotted with decorations, hanging fixtures of merchandise, and more, but not completely covered. The uncovered wall space is a solid color, usually a gray or brown. The fitting rooms of Urban Outfitter's is also something that adds to the atmosphere. The features somewhat resemble that of a living room--including chairs or couches for the shoppers' friends, a rugged floor, big mirrors, and an extremely helpful